Method of making metal door



Sept. 15, 1970 A, s, BRQWN ETAL A 3,528,163

METHOD OF MAKING METAL DOOR Original Filed Oct. 19, 1966 2 Shee-Sheet 1v M Aaa/M6 r//f sf/ffrs fof/wave' E/Vo czosuefs] Mfrs: #ain-MAMA( msx/f@f//fM/A/g.

l`ysept/15,1970 SBROWN ETAL 3,528,163

METHOD OF MAKING METAL DOOR original vFiled oct. 19. 196e 2 sheets-sheet2 M4775; Hoff/waa( nsf/effray U.Sl Cl. 29-455 United States Patent OMETHOD OF MAKING METAL DOOR Arthur S. Brown, Girard, Harold E. Leiby,Southington, and Earle A. Miller, Warren, Ohio, assignors to TheAmerican Welding & Manufacturing Company Original application Oct. 19,1966, Ser. No. 587,903, now Patent No. 3,455,078, dated July 15, 1969.Divided and this application Aug. 5, 1968, Ser. No. 750,093

Int. Cl. B21d 39/00; B23p 19/04; B23k 31102:l

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ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present door invention comprises frontand rear metal sheets connected together along their longitudinal edgeportions and along their end portions to top and bottom closures and tothe edges of interior parts, such as hinge and lock reinforcements, al1by projection welds.

This application is a division of our copending application, Ser. No.587,903, filed Oct. 19, 1966, now Pat. No. 3,455,078.

THE FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to the steeldoor art. It is particularly concerned with a new projection welded doorof the hollow metal contstruction type.

THE PRIOR ART Prior hollow metal doors, so far as we are informed, haveusually been made by separately welding each of the interior parts, suchas hinge and lock reinforcements, in place on one of the sheets ofmetal, then assembling and lwelding the other sheet to the first sheetand to the interior parts. This procedure was slow and expensive becauseit required numerous separate welding steps, and the services of skilledWelders, and in general, was conducive to faulty construction, asrepresented by breakage of some of the welds when the door was beingerected in a building or after it had undergone some severe usage.

SUMMARY The present invention avoids the disadvantages of the said priorart by means of new features of construction which enable semi-skilled-workmen to make projection welded hollow metal doors which aresubstantially free from defective welds.

Briey described, the present method invention includes the steps ofpunching and shearing metal sheets for interior parts, such as lock,hinge and other reinforcements, bending the longitudinal edge portionsof the sheets and forming welding projections thereon, placing interiorparts, such as hinge and lock reinforcements between the edge portionsof the sheets, projection welding together the opposed longitudinal edgeportions of the sheets and the interior parts, forming end closures withwelding projections on each edge portion, assembling the closuresbetween the top and bottom edge portions of the sheets and projectionwelding the edges of each closure to both of the sheets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be betterunderstood by those skilled in the art from the following specificationand the drawings which accompany it in which:

FIG. 1 is a ilow diagram showing the successive steps of the presentmethod invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a door embodying the present articleinvention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are, respectively, fragmentary, perspec- Patented Sept. 151970 "ice tive` views of the front and rear sides of the door of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are, respectively, fragmentary, perspective views of theclosures for the top and bottom ends of the door of tFIG. 2;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are, respectively, perspective views of hinge and lockreinforcements for the door of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a perspective View of a Hush bolt reinforcement for the lockedge of the door; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary, sectional View showing a hinge reinforcementin position in a door.

FIG. 1 shows the order of performance of the steps embodying this methodinvention and FIG. 2 shows the results of those steps. FIG. 1 indicatesthat the lirst step is that of shearing and punching two steel sheets 1and 3, for use as the front and the rear sides of the door of FIG. 2. Asis shown in FIG. 2, the longitudinal edges 5 and 5a of front and rearsheets 1 and 3 have been sheared to provide reliefs 7 and 7a for hingereinforcements. Sheets 1 and 3 have also been punched as shown at 9 and9a, respectively, for reception of a lock (now shown).

In the second step, as is better shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, thelongitudinal edges of sheets 1 and 3 have been bent to form main flanges11 and 11a, respectively, which extend at substantially right angles, ornormal, to the sheets and short flanges 13 and 13a, respectively, whichproject toward one'another from the free ends of anges 11 and 11a. Inthe same operation, the short anges 13 of sheet 1 have been providedwith projection welding projections 15 which are spaced apart therealongand initially engage the short flanges 13a of sheet 3 when the twosheets are brought together preliminary to welding.

In the third step of the method, hinge reinforcements 17 are located inhinge reliefs 7 of sheet 1 with welding projections 18 engaging thesheet, and lock reinforcement 19 is properly positioned relative topunch holes 9 (see FIGS. 2, 7, 8 and 10). Lock reinforcement 19 haswelded projections 20 on its opposite edges. Also, sound deadeningmaterial (now shown) is placed on sheet 1 and substantially fills thespace between the sheets, hinge and lock reinforcements.

In the fourth step, sheet 3 is placed on sheet 1 with the hinge reliefs7a being positioned adjacent to hinge reinforcements 17 and With lockhole 9a being aligned with lock hole 9 of sheet 1.

In the fifth step the parts assembled in the fourth step are brought toa projection welding device where one longitudinal edge of the door isplaced between welding electrodes and the short anges 13 and 13a arewelded `together by welding current which initially flows throughprojections 15 and ange 13a. At the same time the hinge reinforcementsand the sheets are welded together by current flowing throughprojections 18 on each side of 17 and sheets 1 and 3. In this step thelongitudinal edges of sheets 1 and 3 are similarly Welded together andthe sheets and lock reinforcement are welded together.

In the sixth step top and bottom end closures 21 and 21a (see FIGS. 2,3, 4 and 10) are formed fromI strips of steel by bending thelongitudinal edges to form anges 23 and 23a, each of which is providedwith welding projections 25. Flanges 23a on bottom closure 21a arelonger than ange 23 of top closure 21 and are located to permit removalof metal for additional fitting, if required, of the bottom of the doorto the oor or threshold beneath it.

In the seventh step, the top closure 21 is inserted between the topedges of sheets 1 and 3 of the product of the fifth step with flanges 23extending into the space between the sheets and then this end of thedoor is brought between projection Welding electrodes and the flanges onthe closure 21 and sheets 1 and 3 are welded together. The bottomclosure 21a is assembled between the bottom edges of sheets 1 and r3with the flanges projecting outwardly and this end of the door'is thenbrought between welding electrodes and the sheets and bottom closure arethereby welded together.

It will be understood from FIG. 2 that each of the main flanges 11 and11a of sheets 1 and 3 and flanges 23 and 23a of closures 21 and 21a issubstantially equal in :width to one-half of the final desired thicknessof the door. FIG. 2 also shows that each of the hinge reinforcements 17and the lock reinforcement 19 is also substantially equal in width tothe nal desired outside thickness of the door ninus the thickness of thesheets 1 and 3.

The flush bolt reinforcement 27 of FIG. 9 has a face portion 29 to closea corresponding space in the lock edge of the door, which is formed bynotches (not shown) in the anges of sheets 1 and 3, and has weldedprojections 31 on its edges for welding to the sheets. Tapped holes 33near the ends of portion 29 are for screws (not shown) which secure aflush bolt (not shown) against the inner surface of the reinforcementwith the bolt being movable through portion 29.

Reinforcement 27 is one of several reinforcements which may be used fordifferent purposes and what may have different shapes but all of whichwill have projection welding projections on their edges for welding tothe door sheets.

FIG. shows the relative positions of a hinge reinforcement and one sheetof the door. The reinforcement 17 is welded, as stated above to sheets 1and 3 and its surface 17a is exposed through reliefs 7 and 7a and it isset back far enough into the door from the outer sur-v faces of flanges11 and 11a to afford space for a hinge leaf. Threaded holes 17b areprovided for screws which extend through a hinge leaf and secure it tothe reinforcement 17.

The present method invention may Ibe performed mechanically Ibysemi-skilled labor in line production. As a result, doors embodying thepresent article invention may be made quickly and at low cost from thingauge steel sheets and inner parts of somewhat greater thickness.

Having thus described this invention in such full, clear, concise andexact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use the same, and having set forth the best modecontemplated of carrying out this invention, we state that the subjectmatter which we regard as being our invention is particularly pointedout and distinctly claimed in what is claimed, it being understood thatequivalents or modificaions of, or substitutions for, parts of the abovespecifically described embodiment of the invention may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as set forth in 'what isclaimed.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of making a door of the hollow metal construction typewhich comprises the steps of (a) punching and shearing metal sheets toprovide spaces 'for yinterior parts,

(b) bending the longitudinal edges of each sheet and forming projectionwelding projections along the longitudinal edges of one of said sheets,

(c) forming interior parts with projection welding projections alongtheir edges,

(d) bending the longitudinal edges of steel strips to form end closuresand forming welded projections on said edges,

(e) placing the interior parts on one of said sheets at the punchedspaces at the sheets,

(f) placing sound deadening material on said sheet between its edges,

(g) placing the other sheet on said sheet and interior parts,

(h) projection welding the longitudinal edges of the sheets to eachother and to the interior parts,

(i) assembling the end closures between the top and bottom ends of thedoor and projection Welding the edges of said closures to each of thesides.

2. In the method of making the door set forth in claim 1, wherein saidflat metal sheets have parallel flanges substantially perpendicular tothe sheets along their longitudinal edges, short flanges extendingtoward each other from the parallel flanges and projection weldingprojections on the short flanges of 'one of the sheets.

3. In the method of making the door of claim 1, wherein said endclosures have longitudinal edge Vflanges extending at substantiallyright angles thereto and projection welding projections on said flangesto engage opposed inner surfaces of the sheets.

4. In the method of making the door set in claim 1, wherein areinforcement having projection welding projections on its oppositeedges are welded to the inner surfaces of the sheets.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,270,014 6/1918Y Conwell 52-455XR 2,108,795 2/ 1938 Budd 219--107 2,327,265 8/ 1943 Herr 219-107 XR2,451,396 10/ 1948 Macleod 52--619 XR 2,556,099 6/ 1951 Myer. 2,579,15712/1951 Price et al. 2,665,781 1/1954 Battles et al. 52,-619 XR2,696,279 12/ 1954 Schofield 52-619 XR 2,762,472 9/ 1956 Jackson 29-455XR 2,814,717 11/ 1957 Hardesty.

CHARLIE T. MOON, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

